


A Million Different Ways

by ams75, IncendiaGlacies



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Rip Week 2019, RipFic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 22:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19385557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ams75/pseuds/ams75, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: As Rip Hunter works to fix the Waverider, Gideon haunts him.





	A Million Different Ways

**Author's Note:**

> Collab between ams75 and myself for Rip Week 2019 Day Four: Ship Rip

Gideon would have said it was sheer luck and stupidity that Rip survived. He liked to think of it as a miracle. It was an even greater miracle that after being spat out from whatever time hell he had been in, it had only taken him three months to find the Waverider. Three months of scavenging on the streets as he used to as a child. Three months of trying to find out every single thing of what had become of the Legends and Time Bureau (disbanded and disintegrated). Three months of wondering who had looked after Gideon after all these years.

After three months of trying to get his time courier to work properly, he used his knowledge and stepped back to the moment the  _ Waverider _ had been abandoned. This way, Gideon would have been alone for so long. Even after he had found his beloved ship though, Rip saw that he would need to work on her to get her back to her full potential.

But Gideon was silent, she needed repairs as did the  _ Waverider _ . He stepped onto the desolate ship. The lights had clearly been off for a long time, windows were cracked, as were the glass panels of his-the parlour. The ship stood, just barely, in disrepair and neglect.

Best to fix the ship, then Gideon. She would be horrified at the state of her beloved ship. Over the next few days he worked on the ship’s integral structures. He wanted to surprise Gideon when she woke up. Rip would go back and forth, opening new portals for more materials, and repairing the ship piece by piece. Sometimes, it was as if he could hear her voice as she guided him through it.

“You wired the circuitry wrong,” Gideon tutted, leaning against the panel and smirking at him.

“Always think you’re right,” Rip muttered but went over the wiring again.

“I always am.” She watched his hands closely as he worked. “Red to blue, not green.”

It was an amateur mistake. He closed his eyes for a moment, frustrated.

“You’re doing so well,” she said softly in his ear. “See? You got it now. I’m so proud of you, always.”

When he opened his eyes again she was gone.

“Gideon?” he whispered. There was no response. Rip shook his head. Of course she wasn’t there. He had to fix her first.

It had all been his imagination. He went back to work.

* * *

 

It happened more frequently than he would like to admit. Once his old Captain’s quarters were in living condition, he laid awake many a night, unable to sleep, wondering when she would be fixed.

“Would you like me to read you a story?” Gideon’s voice floated above him.

“That would be wonderful, thank you, Gideon.”

“Would you like to pick or shall I?”

“You.” He expected it would be many stories garbled together, she wasn’t awake yet.

“How about The Little Prince? You always liked that one, didn’t you?”

“Perfect.”

Her soft voice told the story of the little prince who lived on his own planet. She spun a great tale of his travels, and wonder, and excitement. It wasn’t long until Rip began to drift off, listening to the sound of her melodious voice.

* * *

 

“You know that hardly counts as a proper breakfast,” Gideon chastised as Rip sat at the table. “You need to eat more. Look at you. You’re practically wasting away.”

Go away, you’re not here. Only he didn’t really want this vision to disappear. “What’s wrong with it?” he asked, hurt.

“It’s hardly a proper meal. You need more than just tea to survive. Shall I fabricate you a full English spread?”

The fabricator was only capable of weak tea so far. “Another time, I promise.”

“Perhaps if you fixed the fabricator I could feed you properly. Will you be requiring my assistance?”

“I’d like your company.”

“As you wish.”

“Thank you.”

“You should do it now,” she said. “That way I can fabricate you a proper meal.” Gideon looked at his meal with distaste.

“What would you make for me?”

“Toast, eggs, oatmeal, glass of orange juice, sausage links, potatoes, maybe some bacon too. Oh, and my famous French toast. And all the sides for it as well. Would you like a cranberry muffin too?”

“Bacon instead of sausage links and a double chocolate chunk muffin for later.”

“Sounds delicious.”

“Mmmm.” Much better than the ration bars he had found.

“Better get to work.”

“Always the nag,” he said fondly.

“Someone has to keep you in line.”

“You do at that.”

Gideon smiled serenely at him.

“You always have,” he whispered.

“It is my purpose.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Gideon tilted her head at him. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“Yes.”

Rip headed to the fabricator and started working on fixing it. When he turned back for advice from Gideon, she was gone. Heart heavy, he kept working diligently until it was fixed. He pressed the on button and almost immediately it fabricated him a full English breakfast, complete with a double chocolate muffin. It brought a smile to his face.

* * *

 

He remembered how Gideon had pushed him to understand the  _ Waverider _ inside and out. It came in handy now. She had always insisted that a proper Captain would be able to handle all routine maintenance, and any emergency repairs. She had demonstrated as such by purposely sabotaging the ship in their early days and refusing to help him.

He had cursed her every hour but she remained stubbornly silent. Very much as she was now. Why was it he would see phantoms of her when he didn’t need to but couldn’t when he so desired it?

His mind was playing tricks on him, that was clearly the only answer. Rip headed to the parlour, now almost nearly finished. Most importantly, he had managed to restock his whiskey. Time for a drink. He poured three fingers worth into his glass and took a seat in the armchair.

“Really? You’re drinking again?” Gideon scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. You were never much good for anything else.”

“That’s what I said.”

“The one time you might have actually been right. You honestly think you deserve to be my Captain again? That you deserve me after everything you did?”

“No.” He drank again. “But you’re the only one who might agree to give me another chance.”

“Why should I?”

“Why indeed,” he said morosely.

“You’re pathetic.”

“I know.”

“You abandoned your ship and you abandoned me. You don’t deserve either of us.” She sneered at him. “I hate you and I will never, ever forgive you.”

“You already did, once,” he whispered.

“Once too many.”

“You kissed me. Well, we kissed each other. When I realised you remembered it, I got scared, and I ran. I ran so far away when I could, I’d already hurt you, I couldn’t bear to hurt you more.”

“You did. You always do.”

“Go away, figment.” He sipped his whiskey again. As much as he deserved what she was saying, the real Gideon would never utter those words, not once they were past their rocky beginning.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again he was alone. 

He’d forgotten his psyche could be that savage. Rip put down the drink. It probably wasn’t helping much. Not that that had ever stopped him in the past.

He sighed and got up. He had more work to do anyway. He brought the glass and decanter with him, just in case. Then he got back to work

* * *

 

He stepped out of the ship he had been living and walked around slowly, inspecting her for needed repairs. There had been damage to the exterior hull, and she was in need of a new paint job. First, repair the damage then paint. He assessed the damage and then went to grab his tools.

“Did you see the cargo door? It’s completely cracked,” Gideon said as she followed him. “My poor ship. You will fix her, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course, Gideon. When you wake up, you won’t even know how badly she’d been damaged, I promise.”

“You should give me a body too. I have some suggestions.”

“Do you now.” This was a conversation to pursue when she was awake.

“Of course. Many, many ideas.”

“What are they?”

Gideon smiled mischievously and kept silent.

“Be like that then.”

She grinned and followed him out of the ship again when he had his tools. “How long do you estimate it will take?”

“Another couple of days, if the weather holds.

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

“And then you’ll wake me up properly?”

“As soon as the ship meets your high standards.”

“I do have very high standards.”

He was still surprised at times she had accepted him. “You do a wonderful job of running the ship.”

“Thank you, Captain Hunter.”

“Rip, please.”

“If you insist.”

“I do. We should be partners this time.”

“Weren’t we partners before?” she asked sadly.

“Equals. Rip and Gideon, not Captain and Gideon.”

“Captain and Rip?” she said cheekily.

He laughed softly. “Perhaps.”

“Fix the ship, then wake me up.”

“Think you’ll want a second in command?”

“As opposed to first?”

“You’ll be first, as Captain.”

“Excellent.” Gideon smiled back at him.

“Acceptable to you if I’m your second?”

“Always.”

“Excellent.”

He turned back to look at the ship and opened his mouth to say something but when he turned around again, she was gone. He sighed quietly. She always left him. He supposed it was only fair. Rip had left her too. 

He went back to work and hoped when she woke, she would be happy with the repairs.

* * *

 

Rip woke in bed, sitting up rod straight. His heart was pounding and his shirt was sticking to him from the sweat. It had been a worse nightmare than usual. He hadn’t been able to turn Gideon on, hadn’t been able to save her.

“Gideon!” It was a reflexive action.

“I’m here,” her voice echoed in the room. “Did you have another nightmare?”

Breathing heavily, he nodded. He forced out a yes.

“Do you want to talk about it? It might help.”

“What if I can’t bring you back?” His breathing was ragged.

“You will. I know you will. I believe in you, Captain.”

“But if I can’t? I can’t bear to lose you, too, Gideon.” His voice broke.

“You won’t, I promise you won’t.”

“But you can’t really promise that, can you. Can you?!?”

“You’re upset,” she said softly. “Would you like me to sing to you?”

He wanted her to be real, for this to be real and happening, to properly have a conversation with her. “Yes.”

“Lie back and close your eyes. I’ll sing your favourite.”

“Sing all of them, please.”

“As you wish.”

“Gideon, I--”

“I know. I do too,” she said easily, soothing his worries. Or, at least this figment of his thought so. 

Projection. Phantom. Ghost. The list could go on. But it wasn’t his Gideon. 

As long as he didn’t try to repair her, he could think she was offline and about to return any time. It made him feel slightly better. 

Gideon would understand, wouldn’t she? Yes, of course she would. She had to. 

Not that he would ever know. 

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on Gideon singing. Did her voice just waver? Rip tried to concentrate, trying to keep it alive in his mind. 

Tried. But no matter how hard he did, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t his Gideon. A long time later, he fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

 

Rip walked around the bridge, the last room left, checking off the final points for the inspection on his tablet. The console was now working and showing a proper map of the timeline. All the wires had been fused together properly. Piloting and navigation systems were a go. Perhaps he could do something more on the user interface…

“I know what you’re doing.” Gideon leaned against the console, arms crossed, and smirked at him.

“What? Ensuring the ship is up to your high standards?”

“Stalling.”

“I never stall.”

“You are now.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Stalling. You.” Gideon gave him an unimpressed look. “You and I both know the ship is perfectly fine now. You have to wake me up at some point.”

“What if I can’t?”

“You can. You will.”

“What if you’re beyond repair?”

“Then you’ll fix me,” she said easily. “I know you, Captain. You’ll find a way, you always do. And you won’t give up until you do.”

“I can’t fix everything,” he whispered painfully.

“You can fix this. I know it.” She stepped forward and cupped his face, took his hand into hers.

“If I can’t, I’ll lose you.”

“Never. I will always be with you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Always.”

As envisioned by his imagination. He wasn’t quite sure he could trust it. He really only had two choices, try to repair Gideon and if, after that, he couldn’t then keep trying until he did, or leave now. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he heavily considered both options. His imaginary Gideon continued to smile at him serenely.

He’d come this far, damned if he backed away now, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself and the what-ifs. “Wish us luck.”

“Good luck, my Captain.”

“Good luck, Gideon. See you on the other side.”

With a smile and final blown kiss, she disappeared from view again.

Slowly, he walked over to the casing that housed her. With a deep breath, he pulled back the panel and examined the wiring and circuitry. Most everything was still intact. Rip had taken the past few weeks to replace any frayed wiring as he’d worked on the ship. He simply had to splice a few wires together and then execute the backup command codes. Hopefully, it would be enough to reboot her systems. Hopefully.

He sat staring at the wires for a few minutes, as all manner of disasterous scenarios played out in his head. What if he spliced the wrong wires and killed the charge to her forever? What if he didn’t properly upload her linguistic hard drives and she could never speak again? What if he had mixed up the logic matrix with the emotional nodes and she never felt again? What if he completely ruined her? What if she wasn’t his Gideon anymore? What if he killed her? What if he had killed her a long time ago, without realising it?

Rip gasped and fell back from the panel, his heart racing. It felt like he couldn’t get enough oxygen no matter how hard he tried. His lungs couldn’t handle it.

“Breathe,” Gideon’s soft voice commanded. “Breathe, Rip. It’s a panic attack. I need you to breathe.”

Her voice soothed him, even if it was an auditory hallucination and he strove to obey her. He focused on his breathing. Slowly, his breathing resumed its normal rate. His heartbeat slowed as well.

“Good, very good,” whispered Gideon. “Do you think you can try again?”

For her, anything.

Nodding, he got up and went back to the panel.

“I’ll stay right here the entire time. I promise,” she said softly.

She wouldn’t but he nodded. Rip focused his attention on the panel, keeping his thoughts from straying to the dark side. He worked slowly, methodically. He aligned all the switches and spliced together the remaining wires. Then he looked through the coding again and made sure all the emotional functions were nested properly. He couldn’t have her forget him.

He shut the panel, time to reboot. “Are you ready, Gideon?”

“I have been for a long time,” she murmured. “Are you?”

No. “See you soon.”

“I love you, always. Now, say hello, properly.”

“I love you too,” he whispered and pressed the button to reboot her. He closed his eyes and waited.

“Captain Hunter?”

“Gideon?” he whispered as he opened his eyes.

She wasn’t there. No figment in front of him.

“I’m here,” she said softly, voice coming from the speakers. “I missed you.”

“And I, you. Gideon, run a diagnostic, you’ve been offline.”

“Running.” The console beeped and lit up as she ran the test. “No problems detected. All systems running normally. Thank you for fixing me.”

“How did you end up here?”

“There was an accident. It seems the memory files have been damaged some, I apologize.”

“Are you able to determine approximately how long you’ve been here, within decades?”

“Three, I believe. Approximately speaking, that is.”

“May I have a visual of you?”

“Avatar or humanoid?”

He paused before answering, he’d never had an option before. “Whichever one you prefer.”

A hologram of a woman appeared in front of him. Gideon smiled at him mischievously. “What do you think?”

“You’re as beautiful as I remember,” he said softly.

“How long has it been for you?”

He frowned, thinking. “It feels like another lifetime ago, but that can’t be right.”

“It’s okay. We’re together now. That’s all that matters.”

As usual, she was correct. “Indeed. Shall we have a test flight?”

“We should. But before we do, is there anything else you’d like to say to me?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes.”

“Go on then. I’m waiting.”

“Does it need to be said?”

“Yes.”

“Gideon, I--”

Gideon waited eagerly. “Go on, won’t you say it just once now that I’m properly awake?” she asked hopefully. 

“Gideon, I--” He swallowed nervously. What if this wasn’t what she wanted to hear?

She waited. 

He pivoted. “Have you ever considered the benefits of having a body?” His hand raised to touch her face, stopping just short of breaking the illusion the hologram provided.

Her face dropped. He wasn’t going to say it. “I’ve considered it.”

“I’d be able to touch you, hold you.” He watched her closely, was that something she’d want?

“Yes, you would. Is that something you would like?”

“You’d be able to touch me,” he whispered.

“I would. I could do more than touch you if you like.”

“Would you like that?”

“Would you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because, Gideon, my faithful friend, who’s been there for me when I’ve needed you the most… I love you.”

Gideon smiled at him. “I love you too, Rip.”

 


End file.
